I asked you to ponder if your artwork was:
- some other artist’s work (style, technique)
- how you THINK your art should look or should be

I wondered if your art were really your own if you were taking or had taken art classes or art lessons.

I did not mean to give (or leave) the impression that I don’t support art education in all realms, from art history to fine arts to specific techniques and genres. I support education for all in whatever field of endeavor, especially art, and far be it from me to cast aspersions on art education.

My presupposition about art education is that all types, genres, techniques, and styles are equally relevant in art schools. It’s wise to learn different techniques, to study the masters’ paintings, to try different mediums as part of an educational curriculum, process, or art class.

That does not mean you should have to to paint the way any other artist paints. Does it? Paint whatever way you want to paint, and let it be your own creation.

Artists and painters, I believe, should create whatever vision they conjure for the viewer. They should not be constrained by any particular style, general consensus, by critics, by anyone’s moral compass, by ethics, or mores of society. I do acknowledge the gray area of artistic content deemed acceptable in society and who decides because of legal, ethical, or other constraints. But that is the subject of another blog for another day.

And it’s beside my point, which is to simply to encourage artists to paint the way they want to paint.

(Today's image is an acrylic of mine that I painted the way I wanted to.)